Former Sri Lankan Cricketer Saliya Saman Banned for Five Years Over Match-Fixing Charges
Former Sri Lankan domestic cricketer Saliya Saman has been banned from all forms of cricket for five years after an ICC anti-corruption tribunal found him guilty of breaching the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) anti-corruption code. The ban has been backdated to September 13, 2023, the date when Saman was provisionally suspended.
Saman was one of eight individuals linked to the Pune Devils franchise in the 2021 Abu Dhabi T10 tournament charged with violating the code. Among the others was Bangladesh all-rounder Nasir Hossain, who in January 2024 received a two-year ban for breaching the same code. Hossain resumed competitive cricket in April 2025 after serving his suspension, with six months of his ban suspended by the ICC.
Saman’s charges relate to three specific articles of the ECB’s anti-corruption code:
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Article 2.1.1 – Being party to an attempt to fix, contrive, or improperly influence matches or aspects of matches during the Abu Dhabi T10 2021 tournament.
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Article 2.1.3 – Offering a reward to another participant in exchange for engaging in corrupt conduct.
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Article 2.1.4 – Soliciting, inducing, persuading, or facilitating any participant to breach the anti-corruption code.
The decision serves as a stern reminder of the ICC’s commitment to maintaining the integrity of cricket, sending a strong message that any attempts to manipulate matches will be met with strict action.
The three-member tribunal, comprising Nigel Peters KC, Justice Zak Yacoob, and chairman Harish Salve KC, concluded that Saman had actively attempted to recruit a player for the Abu Dhabi T10 2021 tournament, offering that the player would feature in all matches that season and engage in match-fixing in select games.
Saman, 39, has had a significant domestic career, having played 101 first-class matches, 77 List A games, and 47 T20s. His last appearance in a recognized cricket fixture was during the SLC Twenty20 Tournament in March 2021.
He was one of eight individuals linked to the Pune Devils franchise in the tournament who were charged under the anti-corruption code. This case serves as a stark reminder of the ICC’s zero-tolerance policy toward corruption in cricket.
